The Other Woman's Club

"The children will be another matter. It has been decided that for their own protection, all high school aged males will be relocated to a military base closest to their home. Education will be provided and upon completion, the young adults will be returned to their mothers. The details of this program are still being worked out. "Good Night and God Bless the United States."

Chapter Eight:

I felt lost and confused as I lay naked in our interior courtyard soaking up the mid-day sun on this beautiful early spring day. I had been feeling this way for the last several days; ever since I had made the call to my doctor's office to confirm my next hormone treatment appointment.

"Mr. Crawford, I'm glad you called; I was just about to call you to cancel your appointment."

"Cancel my appointment, why?"

"It's so sad; Dr. Albertson has died due to the pandemic."

"There are other doctors I can see, aren't there? I'm just coming for my hormone treatment shot."

"I'm sorry, I have more bad news. The federal government has temporarily banned your re-assignment surgery. We are no longer allowed to perform male to female sex changes. You can understand why, can't you; they want to preserve every able bodied male for the re-population project. In fact, we had to turn over your records to them when they came here to inform us of their restriction. I'm sorry there was nothing we could do but comply with their request. If anything changes we will, of course, contact you; good luck."

That had been three days ago. My mother and I had discussed our options. I would just have to wait and hope for a change in policy. But in the meantime, we had a more pressing problem. Would the federal government actually come looking for me? We had never changed our address at the clinic, all they had was my cell number. We immediately shut the phone off and pulled the battery and the sim card. Mom bought me a brand new phone and I got a new number. If the feds went to our old house, they would find it a dead end. We had never forwarded our mail. No one knew our new address. But mom said I would have to be observant of my surroundings. She doubted that they would send anyone to look for me. I was only one person after all.

The sun felt so good on my naked body that I soon relaxed and fell asleep. I don't know how long I slept, but when I finally awoke I was disoriented; I didn't know where I was. All I knew for sure was that I must have slept for a long while because now my body was mostly in the shade; and even more confusing, I had an erection. Hopefully, my mother had not returned home yet.

I stood, picked up my towel, and headed for the sliding glass door, which led to the breakfast area of the kitchen. Because the glass was tinted to reflect the harsh Arizona sun and heat, it acted as a mirror that reflected my image clearly as I approached.

'Look at you; you're a freak, half man and half woman. What am I going to do?'

I decided that what I really needed right now was to be with other people. I changed into my bathing suit, put on a pair of shorts and a long tee shirt and my sneakers. In the garage I decided on my bicycle rather than take my car; I could use the exercise and the wind in my face.

The ride to the community center is mostly flat and only about two miles long. During the ride I passed several residents walking their dogs and the volunteer members of the landscaping crew cutting the grass along the access road that connected the residential areas to the main thoroughfare around the community.

I parked my bike and walked down to the pool area; of the OWC members only Maria was there. I felt a little winded, but also energized; it was the first exercise I had done since our winter had ended.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Maria.

"Well, your mother and Helen went to the gym so they are probably on the treadmills, and Monique and Daria are swimming in the lap pool."

"Why aren't you with them," I asked.

"Cardio is not my thing. I get bored easily. I use the machines and the free weights. I normally wait until after 3:00, by then the gym is practically empty so I can get in a proper workout."

"I've never done anything like that before."

"I can tell. You'd really look good if you put on a little muscle and tightened up that body of yours."

"Would you show me how? I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"It would be my pleasure. But I'm warning you, I am a hard taskmaster. You will be working your body hard and in the beginning you will be very sore until your muscles get used to being worked. But in the end I think you will be pleased with the results."

"Are you sure; I don't want to slow you down."

"That's okay; you'll only slow me down in the beginning. Once you learn the machines it will just be a question of pulling a pin to change the amount of weight you use verses what I use. Before you know it, we'll be using the same amount of weight."

I thought about that; it would be good to improve my body, but I'd have to be careful to not bulk up too much, after all, I still had hopes to eventually have my transition surgery.

"Maria, when can we start?"

"This afternoon; I don't want you to have second thoughts and chicken out on me. Besides, I get lonely sometimes; it will be good to have a workout partner."

That afternoon, after the other women rejoined us for lunch, after spending another hour in the sun, and after a refreshing dip in the pool, I surprised my mom when I told her that I was going to work out with Maria and that I would be home for dinner.

As we walked out of the pool area, we were greeted at the gate by Janet DeFalco, the Office Manager for the community center. It was her job to warn any families with young children that it was 3:00 and time that they left the pool area. I'm not sure why, but I gave her a quick scan from head to toe. She was a very good looking woman; with shoulder-length blond hair, a very attractive face, a great figure with well-formed legs. She always dressed professionally; always wore a form fitting dress, never slacks, with heeled pumps. She looked really good and she knew it. She returned my smile and continued on her walk around the pool.

I received a curious look from Maria, who had observed my checking out of Janet but she didn't comment.

Maria used her card key to gain access to the lobby that separated the indoor lap pool from the gym. I had only been in the gym once before; that was when we had first bought the house and were given the new owners tour of the facilities. Maria led me to the locker room where we had a choice of any of the lockers. Maria had a gym bag which she placed in one and set the combination. I placed my towel and sunglasses in another locker; Maria showed me how to set a combination. Each locker had lock that consisted of four round dials which were placed in a square formation. Each dial had numbers, 0 to 9. To set the lock, Maria asked me when my birthday was; I told her May 25^th, which she enter 2, 5 on the top row and 0, 5 on the bottom row and closed the door. The combination was now set she explained, and then spun the dials to hide the combination. When I asked her why she put the day before the month, she explained; "that's how we do it in Mexico."

Maria led me back into the gym and to the first machine, which was for leg extensions. Maria sat in the chair, pulled the pin on the weights and inserted it into the one marked 100. Then she grabbed hold of the handles on the side and lifted her legs slowly and then returned them back down again. She did this twelve times, and then she stood aside and allowed me to take her place. Maria told me to place the pin in the one marked 50 and to try it. I did one rep, told her it was too easy and repositioned the pin in at 70. It was still too easy, so I tried it at 100. This was more of a challenge, but I felt I could do more.

When I had done twelve reps, I got up and Maria took my place. She dropped the pin to 130 and did another 12 reps. As I replaced her, she told me, "don't try to be a hero, this is your first time, I don't want you to hurt your knees." I guess my legs were pretty strong from all the walking I did growing up because I did 12 reps and allowed Maria to take my place once again. She dropped the pin to 150, the entire stack of weights, and did her 12 reps. I took her place and managed to do 12 reps; but the last two were hard. If she had done more I couldn't have matched her.

The next machine was for the backs of the legs and for the glutes. I matched her once again. "Dallas, you're doing very well but the next couple of machines are going to be harder. They are for your shoulders and arms. Your legs are in good shape because you do exercises by just living your life. Your arms, however, don't get much exercise unless you work out. So don't try to do what I do; you have to know your limits."

She was right, of course, on each machine the best I could do was about half of her weight. But where I really embarrassed myself was on the curl machine. I watched in amazement as she worked her way up to 150, while I had topped out at 50. I found myself becoming sexually aroused as her biceps exploded from her arms with each rep. Her arms appeared to be thicker than mine normally, now they mine look like the arms of a young child. I had to turn my back to her as I adjusted my painfully apparent erection.

When I turned back to her, Maria was smiling at me. She knew I was sexually aroused by her display of strength, but I don't think she realized what I was actually hiding. If she knew the truth, I don't think she would have still been sitting there.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed, it's only your first day. You'll do better; it will just take a little time. I've been lifting since I first moved here. Before that I did a lot of physical labor when I was growing up."

We had two more machines to use. The first was what she called a "crunch chair". It was for the body's core muscles. Maria sat in the chair, adjusted the weight to the maximum, grabbed the overhead handles, and crunched her body forward until her face was nearly touching her knees, using her abdominal muscles only. After twelve reps she got up and I took her place. I tried one rep and knew in my heart that I would not be able to do all twelve.

"Don't worry; just do as many as you can."

I did nine before my muscles failed.

"Good, we have one more station to do."

Looking around, I didn't, at first, see another machine. That was because it wasn't really a machine. It was a seven feet high metal frame, with feet at the bottom for stabilization, two metal arms that stuck straight out towards the front with pads on each and a handle at the ends. There was also a bar at the top between the metal legs.

"This is a three in one exercise frame. I'll show you each of the exercises that can be done here.'

The first one she said was leg lifts. She stood with her back to the frame, placed her arms on the padded arms of the frame and grabbed hold of the handles. She brought her legs up until they were pointing towards the ceiling. She did twelve reps and asked if I wanted to try one.

I got into position and started to raise my legs. I got them as high as my waist before my stomach muscles screamed at me to stop.

"Good, I'm surprised you made it that high. It takes a lot of abdominal strength to do what I did. You'll get there, but it will take a lot of work and dedication."

The next exercise was called a dip. Maria placed her hands on the arms of the frame, folded her legs backward, and lowered her body until her head was even with her hands and then pushed her arms downward until they were straight again. She did a total of twelve reps before she allowed me to take her place. I got into position and lowered my body as I had seen her do. My arms were already trembling from the effort. I tried to reverse my direction, but knew it was hopeless, and quickly brought my legs to the floor to support myself.

"That's okay; it will get easier as you build your arm strength. The last exercise is pull ups or chin ups; whichever you prefer, or both."

She stood directly under the bar, jumped up and grabbed the bar with her hands facing towards her. She allowed her arms to fully extend and then brought her chin to the top of the bar and then slowly allowed her body to drop about a foot and then did eleven more reps. She turned her hands until they were facing away from her and once again did twelve reps before releasing the bar and dropped to the floor.

"Dallas, why don't you try one of each? I'll spot for you so you don't have to worry about falling."

I did as she asked. I stood beneath the bar, jumped up, grabbed the bar with my hands facing me, and wishing to please my instructor, did, not one but two before my arms began to tremble. I hung there momentarily before turning my hands the other way. Just before I attempted my first pull up a thought flashed into my mind. I looked down and realized that Maria was staring directly at my crotch. 'Please don't let me get an erection.' I did one pull up but only got halfway up before my arms and shoulders failed and I was forced to drop to the floor. I managed to stay erect only because I fell into the arms of Maria. As I stared into her eyes I saw embarrassment and something more, lust. I'm sure she saw the same in mine before I was able to escape her grasp. Luckily it was before I became erect once again.

"Sorry" I managed to get out before I turned from her.

"I think you've had enough for your first day. Let's grab a shower and I'll drive you home."

"No thanks; I have my bike. I'll shower when I get home. I want to thank you for helping me today. I never would have lasted this long if it wasn't for you."

"No thanks needed. It was fun. You'll probably be really sore tomorrow, be sure to take a couple of Advil tablets. Remember we have a standing date each day at three. It's important that you don't quit or you'll never improve your body. Think about bringing a gym bag with a change of clothes so you can shower here from now on."

We walked into the locker room and after I opened my locker and retrieved my things I said goodbye to Maria. As I opened the door to the vestibule between the locker room door and the outer locker room door into the hallway, I looked back at Maria. I don't know what made me do it, but I will never forget the image of seeing my first naked woman. Her breasts were a little bigger than mine, but sat high on her chest and gravity appeared to have had little effect on them. Her nipples stood out proudly from the middle of her areolas and as my gaze traveled south I spied a dark patch of hair shaped into an arrowhead pointing the way to her Garden of Eden. I was fortunate that her gaze was turned towards the interior of her locker as I quickly stepped through the doorway.

Once outside, I hopped on my bike, adjusted my painfully erect cock within the confines of my bathing suit and slowly pedaled my way back home.

That night, I lay in my bed, the image of Maria's naked body etched permanently into my male brain. My cock was erect and my hand was traveling up and down its considerable length. I had never done this before and didn't know what to expect. My breathing became more erratic as I approached the point of no return. A moan escaped my mouth as I erupted. Spurt after spurt of my essence shot into the air, landing on my face, into my opened mouth, and onto my naked chest between my tits. When I could finally calm myself down and regained control of my emotions, I realized that I was more confused than ever. Was my maleness finally coming to the forefront of my personality? Was I really a late bloomer as I had heard my mother explaining to my father before he had died? Had I gone through all of this for nothing? And finally, now what?

Chapter Nine:

The next morning I thought I was going to die. Every muscle in my body ached. I walked a lot slower in the house that morning.

"Dallas, what's wrong?" My mother asked, already knowing the answer. "Here are a couple of Advil gel caps. When we get to the pool this morning I want you to spend some quality time in the hot tub; it will help relax the muscles that are hurting you."

"Mom, do you have a gym bag that I could borrow?"

"No, but I'm sure you can get everything you think you need at Target. You can go there after breakfast."

I picked up a gym bag, a couple of tee shirts, a couple of sports bras, and two pairs of gym shorts.

When I got home I packed a change of clothes for after my shower, a tee-shirt and shorts, and a pair of sneakers and socks to work out in, and dressed in my bathing suit and cover up and put on a pair of sandals. Just before I left the house I realized that I would have to be very careful how I undressed before my shower and how I dressed afterwards. In my mind I formed a plan, it wouldn't be perfect, but it was the best I could do.

Mom drove; I figured I could get Maria to drop me off after we worked out. After all she lived only a couple of blocks away from me and she would have to pass my house to get to hers.

As we walked around the pool, I could see Maria watching us. Even though I had taken her advice, I was still walking slower than normal; the pain was etched upon my face as I settled into one of the chairs at our table. Maria chuckled, "Eventually, the muscles will get used to being worked and it wouldn't hurt as much the morning after. Let's go over and soak in the hot tub."

I watched as she turned the timer on the hot tub to the maximum run time, as I carefully climbed down the steps, and sat in the shade while the jets roared to life. The hot water stung my skin at first, but soon my body adjusted to the heat and my pain just seemed to melt away. I sighed with relief. Maria just chuckled once again. She sat a few feet from me, allowing me to gaze at her incredible bust. Her tits always appeared to be at the brink of escaping the confines of her overmatched bathing suit top. I thought that might be for my benefit, but then realized that that seemed to be a common practice among Hispanic actresses on the Spanish speaking stations on cable television. 'It must be cultural', I thought.

Anyway, after a half an hour the jets turned off and we got up and left the tub. I was walking a lot better. I hoped that this was not a temporary condition. By 3:00, after several hours of relaxing in the pool and another hour in the hot sun and another dose of pills, I was ready for whatever Maria could throw at me; or so I thought.

When we entered the locker room, I picked a locker, set my combination, stripped down to my waist, and then excused myself, picked up my workout clothes, and retreated to one of the toilet rooms. I took care of business, and afterwards quickly dressed for my workout. I came back to my locker, placed my swimsuit in my gym bag, put on my socks and sneakers. Satisfied I quickly closed my locker and headed into the gym.

I found Maria over by the free weights. Since there was only one long bar and a limited number of weight plates. She had set up the bar with a weight she figured I could handle, she demonstrated the first exercise, and watched as I did twelve military presses. I put the weights down and while I rested she did two handed curls with the same bar. Then I did my second set, while she set up two shorter bars for my next exercise. When I finished my second set, she stepped in and did her second set. We each did a third set, and then stepped over to the weight bench, where she added additional weight to each side of the bar, and showed me the bench press.

I settled onto the bench and reached up for the weight bar. Maria stood directly behind me saying.

"This might be a little more weight than you can handle; do the best you can, I'll be right here if you need help." I took a deep breath and pulled the weight off the rack. As instructed I slowly lowered the weight until it was just off my chest and then pushed it up until my arms nearly locked. I repeated this move again and again until I had done eleven reps. On the twelfth I felt my arms begin to shake. Before I could ask for help, Maria had her hands on the bar next to mine. Before I let up, I heard her command to me, "push it up, do it, you can do it, one more that's it, do it."